Working with Oikocredit: a people, planet, profit approach

This month at Greenhouse we are delighted to announce a new partnership with Oikocredit, a social impact investor and worldwide cooperative with a mission to galvanise positive social and environmental change.

With 54,000 investors providing €935.1 million worth of funding across 70 countries, Oikocredit is a leader in the sector, working in the fields of inclusive finance, agriculture and renewable energy.

Microfinance is a key aspect of Oikocredit’s inclusive finance focus, a concept first brought into international renown by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

Based on a simple theory – loans, not aid – microfinance offers money to those who would otherwise have no chance of getting a loan from banks for lack of credit history or sufficient income. The idea is to open doors, offer opportunity and respect ambition.

Oikocredit calls this “filling the gap”, stepping in where traditional banks are unable to operate.

Sustainability is at the very heart of Oikocredit’s mission. In this sense, social and environmental impact go hand in hand.

Empowerment of women is one of Oikocredit’s top criteria for social performance. Of the 40 million clients reached by 2017, 84% were women. At Greenhouse we wholeheartedly support this focus, for sustainability cannot be achieved without equality.

Oikocredit is one of a number of international clients we have begun working with over the last year. We will be supporting Oikocredit on key announcements such as its social and environmental report that will be published later this year.